80-year-old man marries 14-year-old

By

Staff

PublishedWednesday, November 03, 2010

A Saudi old man aged above 80 years has married a 14-year-old girl and is refusing to divorce her unless she pays him back his wedding money, the Saudi Ajel Arabic language online paper reported on Wednesday.

The bride’s father, Showan Ateen, said his daughter had been forced to marry that man from the southwestern town of Sabya but that she has not moved in with him yet. He did not say who forced her to marry him.

“The father and the bride now want a divorce but the husband is refusing to divorce her before they pay him back his SR-17,000 dowry,” Ajel said.

“Her father said he does not have the money and is appealing for all benevolent people to help him so he will regain his daughter…the old man has threatened that they either pay him or he will take her by force.”

The report comes amidst furor in the Gulf Kingdom over widespread teen age marriage and calls for enacting laws to curb such practices.